Wharton Mba Essay 2018 Jeep

Wharton MBA Essay Topic Analysis 2017-2018

Following up on our announcement earlier this week with the Wharton essay topics for the 2017-2018 admissions season, we wanted to offer our essay topic analysis for the Class of 2020 UPenn MBA hopefuls.

The Wharton adcom has decided to retain its two required essays on desired professional growth, and fit with the student community. Maryellen Reilly, the Deputy Vice Dean of MBA Admissions, Financial Aid & Career Management, noted in the Wharton Admissions Blog: “By asking these two questions, effectively breaking apart and expanding on [the 2015-2016] essay question, our hope is to give applicants ample space to more fully explain their aspirations, goals, and how Wharton fits into those.” With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at each of Wharton’s prompts and consider how each might factor into an applicant’s strategy.

Wharton MBA Essay Topic Analysis 2017-2018

Essay 1

What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (500 words) A variation of the typical career goals essay, this question asks applicants to adopt a big-picture view of their aspirations, touching on their professional goals. Along with describing their immediate post-MBA career goals, applicants should explain their long-term career goals and the broad impact they hope to have on their industry, community, country or region. A brief career summary can naturally lead to the gaps in one’s professional skill set that the Wharton MBA would fill.

While the new second essay is dedicated to how one may, in turn, contribute to the school, it is still important to balance a sense of gain with giving here. It will require that applicants be very thoughtful and as concise as possible. For instance, if you are interested in consumer goods, do not limit your exploration of the topic to the idea that you would acquire knowledge individually, e.g. in taking a particular course; instead, consider how you may get involved in organizing a conference or bringing a speaker to campus so that you may share this knowledge with fellow students. The key is to define what you need to learn, and integrating a sense of individual growth balanced with knowledge sharing, so that you may be seen as part of a community. Also consider what clubs and activities could help you grow on a professional level—e.g. how would you learn to motivate others by organizing a specific event?

Of course, to craft a truly compelling essay, applicants must also display a strong and specific understanding of how Wharton’s program would enable them to accomplish their goals. Taking the time to learn about the school’s curriculum, special programs and extracurricular activities—whether by visiting campus, speaking with members of the community, or reading the Clear Admit Guide to Wharton—will pay dividends here.

Essay 2

Teamwork is at the core of the Wharton MBA experience with each student contributing unique elements to our collaborative culture. How will you contribute to the Wharton community? (400 words)This response could be used to explain a teamwork experience that’s shaped who you are today (and therefore what you would bring to the campus community), or to highlight an especially proud team accomplishment and the lessons that you would be eager to share with classmates. Establishing a successful teamwork experience would show the adcom one’s collaborative and teamwork skills; this sets the stage for translation to contributions to Wharton. As with Essay 1, being well-versed in Wharton’s offerings would allow for discussion of specific clubs and activities, as well as potential classroom contributions. The more specific details one can bring in about Wharton, the easier it will be for the adcom to envision a future student.

Applicants should also think about the balance of content across their responses, and aim to incorporate something about themselves here that complements the material in Essay 1. This is particularly true for applicants from traditional pre-MBA fields like banking or consulting, who would be better served by highlighting something unique that will help them stand out than by a professional accomplishment or work-centric response. Finally, we encourage applicants to think about how they can use their comments in this essay to reinforce their fit with Wharton, which aims to build an international study body populated by humble, hard-working, and pragmatic students who are willing to leave their egos at the door and embrace a transformational MBA experience.

Clear Admit ResourcesThanks for reading our analysis of this year’s Wharton MBA essay topics! As you work on your Wharton MBA essays and application, we encourage you to consider all of Clear Admit’s offerings:

Posted in: Admissions Tips, Essay Topic Analysis, Essays

Schools: UPenn / Wharton

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The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania has kept this set of essays simple. Specific advice on essays from a student reminds applicants that “the Admissions Committee is looking to understand more about you and your unique personality and how that can ultimately contribute to the Wharton community. We are a student-driven campus and need each and every MBA to bring something to the table.”

As you consider how to approach this set of essays, get to know the Wharton community. Some possible ways to connect include campus visits, online research and the many admissions events around the globe. Wharton has a specific culture, and fit with that culture is an important part of the admissions criteria.

Essay 1: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (500 words)

This is both a standard career goals question and an inquiry into your personality and potential success in the program. Jordan Mock, WG’16 wrote a blog post with three excellent tips for this essay, in which he says, “Wharton is unique and your essay should reflect that.”

Be careful to answer the specific question in this career goals essay. Notice that you are not asked about your professional background or your key accomplishments outright. To answer the question asked, you will want to focus mainly on the future and what you are planning to pursue with your MBA degree. How will a Wharton MBA help you “connect the three career dots” that Jordan writes about?

To answer the question there is room to add color by using your background information where it is most relevant to your goals. Think about the key moments of your professional life that crystallized your goals for you, and focus on illuminating those decision points rather than reciting your entire resume. Anything unique in your background is always worth highlighting.

Understanding exactly how you fit in will help you describe what Wharton will do for you, as well as navigate interviews and other interactions with the Wharton admissions committee. Consider including specific information from your Wharton research in this essay such as Wharton faculty you would like to study with or unique educational opportunities at Wharton.

When you address your personal goals for the MBA make sure you are making the case for Wharton specifically. Consider what living in Philadelphia might be like, the many clubs and student activities, and leadership development opportunities like traveling to Antarctica with your classmates that may address some of your personal life goals.

Essay 2:Teamwork is at the core of the Wharton MBA experience with each student contributing unique elements to our collaborative culture. How will you contribute to the Wharton community? (400 words)

Wharton is an intense environment, but also one that takes pride in collaboration and community. This question seeks to understand how you work with others and what your leadership style is. Collaboration and teamwork are important key concepts to illustrate in this essay.

Your contribution to Wharton could be in the classroom, clubs or within small group projects. You might bring your experiences launching a new product to your marketing case studies. Maybe you will lend creative ideas to your learning team as you prepare a research project.

Perhaps you will tutor your learning teammate in accounting principles because he has never done accounting at work. Or you might contribute to the Media and Entertainment Club by leading a career trek or bringing a new speaker to campus. Think about what you have learned in your career and in prior academics that may help those around you.

This essay does not explicitly require examples of teamwork or leadership from your past experiences, but it will be a stronger essay if you provide evidence. Think about a time you demonstrated your collaborative approach to team problem solving, and consider how you can prove what you contributed to your community in your workplace or extracurricular activities. Additional Question (required for all re-applicants):Explain how you have reflected on the previous decision about your application, and discuss any updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, extracurricular/volunteer engagements). (250 words)*

*First-time applicants may also use this section to address any extenuating circumstances. (250 words)

All re-applicants are required to provide information that supports your renewed candidacy. The most successful version of the re-applicant essay will provide tangible evidence that you have improved the overall package you are submitting this year.

Improvements like GMAT score or new quantitative classes are especially tangible and convincing, but a promotion, increase in responsibility at work, a job change or even a change of goals and mission can serve as reasonable updates.

A rejection or waitlist last year is a form of feedback, and may have led to soul searching for you. When you describe your changes make sure reflect your ability to take feedback and improve. Describe how you approached the reapplication process after assessing your own strengths and weaknesses as a candidate and making the appropriate efforts to improve.

If you are not a re-applicant you may use this space to address any areas of concern in your application. If you have a low GPA or GMAT, gaps in your resume, grades under a C in any quantitative courses, disciplinary action in undergrad or anything else that you want to explain, this is where you would provide a brief explanation and any supporting evidence to show you have moved past the setback and corrected any concerns.